Comb drives are used in a number of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) to excite e.g., pressure sensors, optical devices and gyroscopes. In all of these applications any changes in the force applied by the comb device can produce errors in the output signal. For example, in MEMS gyroscopes, the proof mass and comb drive are typically encapsulated in a sealed package with fixed volume at low pressure. Any change in pressure changes in the mean free path and, hence, the force exerted by the comb drive and changes in temperature in the fixed volume result in changes in the pressure and gas viscosity which then effect the force exerted by the comb drive. For a fixed number of molecules in an evacuated fixed volume, the damping force from gas effects and, hence, drive amplitude, is independent of pressure. At near atmospheric pressures, the gas damping is independent of pressure, the volume, or the number of molecules. As temperature varies, the gas viscosity changes as well as the internal damping of the mechanical members. For many applications, the internal damping variation is larger than the gas viscosity variation. In particular, in a MEMS gyroscope, the change in temperature or pressure results in a change in the amplitude of the proof mass driving force which will appear erroneously as a change in input gyroscope rate or sensitivity. One approach to this problem is to mount the gyroscope in a temperature/pressure stable chamber. But the size of the chamber and complexity of the controls are incompatible with the miniaturization afforded by MEMS devices. Another solution is to mount a temperature/pressure sensor with the gyroscope and use a calibration algorithm to adjust gyroscope output signals to compensate for variations in temperature/pressure that effect the comb drives. These, too, are complex and add size and components to the comb drives operated MEMS device. Further, since in the case of temperature sensors, the thermal paths are different for the sensor and the comb drive, the sensor may never actually be measuring the accurate, real time temperature effecting the comb device.